Fall 2017 Undergraduate English Courses: Renaissance

358:321 Renaissance Women Writers

We will read an amazing range of work in this course: just for example: a groundbreaking science fiction prose narrative; a sister’s brilliant addition to her famous brother’s poetry; an edgy “will” to the city of London, written by a servant; a narrative about an African prince sold into slavery; a tragedy written by a woman who was in dangerous conflict with her husband; and poetry written by a woman living at the edge of imagined world.

Until about thirty years ago, a course devoted to Renaissance women writers could well have seemed laughable; such an omission seems laughable now. In this course, devoted to the significant body of writing by Renaissance women, we will also explore why previous generations forgot Renaissance women writers and how they were remembered again.